Forums >Racing>2018 3:20 (and beyond)
One good thing about these big races, it is not boring, you have ton of people all the time. I was running with 1000 people around me at any given time. It was hard at times during the turns, where everyone wants to run tangents.
The marathon majors thing mostly applies to elite field, doesn't it? Otherwise they're just a bunch of big marathons in big cities. Most don't even have that much history, Grandma's goes back as much as Chicago... Ran up the burn area trail (River fire, not Ranch) and took my phone for pictures this time. Put most of 'em on strava. It was merely 1500 feet in 2 miles so nowhere near Max territory. They took a dozer up it at some point, which does not help with trail running. Might race Saturday on the coast.
The marathon majors thing mostly applies to elite field, doesn't it? Otherwise they're just a bunch of big marathons in big cities. Most don't even have that much history, Grandma's goes back as much as Chicago...
Ran up the burn area trail (River fire, not Ranch) and took my phone for pictures this time. Put most of 'em on strava. It was merely 1500 feet in 2 miles so nowhere near Max territory. They took a dozer up it at some point, which does not help with trail running.
Might race Saturday on the coast.
Resident Millennial
arvind- ahhh don't fall into that trap. unless you truly are recovering at light speed for some reason, trying another one in 1 month would be a bad mental + physical decision.
brew- the course map on their website is from last year, so ignore it, will be completely different. they are currently getting new one approved. yeah i think it was a little long last year, but that was the first time that's ever happened so probably won't again (unlike Santa Rosa which has some course problem just about every year...)
_________________________________________________mile, 5:26 /5k, 19:34 /10k, 41:00 /13.1, 1:31:49 /26.2, 3:12:58
Mother of Cats
With all the effort that I had put into Chicago, I feel that I should give another shot this fall. Thinking of Richmond again Nov 11. Is that too soon for another race?
In my opinion, yes. If you wanted to take another try at Richmond, you should have dropped out at Chicago. 5 weeks is about the worst spacing between marathons. It's too short to recover or to do any training and long enough to lose fitness.
Either do another one in 2-3 weeks just for fun (and don't do anything between the two) or wait at least 8-9 weeks - the longer the better.
Not-quite coincidentally, I just did a blog post on this topic.
The cliff notes are:
1) if you do a second marathon, you need to be doing it for some reason additional to beating the time from your first. (when I did Grandma's I did it so that I could be a training partner to a friend, contend for masters prize money, and enjoy the elite experience at Grandma's. The only reason I ran faster at Grandma's than at Boston was the absolutely awful weather at Boston, combined with the perfect weather at Grandma's)
2) you will not be in as good shape for your second marathon as you were for the first, and so you need to adjust your training and your expectations accordingly.
3) the longer the better between the two marathons, with 5-6 weeks being the absolute worst in terms of spacing.
4) make no major decisions until you're 10 days out from Chicago.
****
Upper body weights/core and 11 "miles" pool-running.
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
Brew - In Oakland I didn't mind the turns last year since I'm not that fast. I did mind the long course and the fact that the course was net set to the certified course in several places though. I think/hope they will fix that part next year. As for the "rolling hills" you are pretty much looking at a couple of railroad overpasses and false flats if I recall correctly . The Bay Bridge will add a 180 ft elevation change in a couple of miles, then you get to go down that hill again. I think the old course did not measure long btw.
Arvind - It sounds risky to me to try for another marathon, especially since you completed the race. Yuki Kawauchi does this all the time, but he seems to be made out of something different than most other people on this planet. And I would argue the wear on your (or our) legs is much more than for the pros, since they are only out there for a little bit more than 2 hours. I would try to figure out the cramping issue (and it might be related to your fueling that was different than in your training) and go for something in the spring again.
McBen - I've had that full feeling myself so I will make sure I don't eat too many gels. In Oakland in March I alternated between gels and sports drinks approximately every 3 miles and it seemed to work. I might be more careful with gels towards the end though, since that's when the effort starts to creep up.
DW - Hope that calf is all good again.
I totally bough into the Vaporfly hype yesterday. Got a pair of the new flyknits and ran the last "real" workout in them. I ended up covering a HM distance in 1:40, exactly half of my officially stated goal for the race, and it felt really effortless. Workout was approximately 2E-1T-2M-1E-1T-2M-2E. Granted, there might be several factors that came together for this run, including a quick bathroom break during the middle E segment, cool temperatures, training program finally paying off, beginning of taper, maybe a really good day otherwise for me, but I was amazed at how easy my training m-pace felt (7:20) I've now gone from thinking it would be dumb to aim any faster than 3:20 for the race, to thinking I should probably try something faster
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
Cobra Commander Keen
Brew - Funny you mention that, just yesterday I talked to one of the guys on the planning committee about it. I pointed out that in previous years they asked who wanted to run ~ 6 weeks or less from the marathon date and what this does to pricing of entries. I recommended doing the "lottery" (I think everyone has gotten in since I've run it) this year ahead of the next cost increase on Jan 2. He liked that they could save budget on the entries they buy beyond what the race gives us for sponsoring a water stop, so I'm pretty certain things are going to happen faster this time around. And hopefully I'll definitely get a free spot for helping save the company money!
As for the course, it's flat to rolling (perhaps a little more rolling with the course changes for this year). The course is mostly north/south, and almost always has a 10-15+ mph south wind. They did cut out one super-flat section by the lake that was always difficult because it heads straight into the wind, and in its place added in a short section heading south to the beginning of the race. While this does route the course over two bridges, the wind shouldn't be too bad since you do this early in the morning when the wind is more likely to be calm. Without having gone over the full course changes personally yet, I think the course could be a little faster than before because of the wind avoidance- but as per usual the Oklahoma weather in late April is always what has the greatest impact on how fast the race can be.
And I do hope I'll have an April race conflict for 2020...
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Speed Surplus
Question for some of the folks on here that do way more volume than me:
I've started riding an e-bike to work. I've only done 3 rides so far, and my HR during them has varied quite a bit, but it seems likely that I'd be looking at an average HR of around 120 during these rides.
If I do that twice a day, for an hour each time, and then also run at lunch... is that too much? So I'd be looking at about an hour of running (HR usually 140-145 during this) and two hours of 120 bpm cycling, maybe 3-4 days a week (plus running on 1-2 of the other days without e-cycling).
Will this help or hurt marathon training? Am I crazy?
5:27 / 18:49 / 40:32 / 88:12 / 3:12
Doesn't dlsmd live in the Florida panhandle somewhere? I hope he's OK... What a mess that is.
Question for some of the folks on here that do way more volume than me: I've started riding an e-bike to work. I've only done 3 rides so far, and my HR during them has varied quite a bit, but it seems likely that I'd be looking at an average HR of around 120 during these rides. If I do that twice a day, for an hour each time, and then also run at lunch... is that too much? So I'd be looking at about an hour of running (HR usually 140-145 during this) and two hours of 120 bpm cycling, maybe 3-4 days a week (plus running on 1-2 of the other days without e-cycling). Will this help or hurt marathon training? Am I crazy?
I've been a bike commuter for several years. I ride five days a week (although you caught me on a day I drove because of Michael rains and winds). My one way commute is around 12 - 15 miles depending on if I have time to take a scenic detour or not, but generally 50 to 60 minutes long.
I run early at about 5am; done by 6 or 6:15am (4 to 7, maybe 8 miles). Eat, shower, get ready and on the bike no later than 7:00 and at work to change by 8:00. At lunch I usually take a short nap. Off work at 5 and ride home by 6pm.
I know it is good cross training. Yes, it can feel like too much sometimes. Especially if I did a workout of sorts or didn't get to be early enough. Trying to run more than 8 miles means getting up even earlier (4am, running by 4:30). Running in the evening may help with that, but my family life doesn't work out for evening runs (kid taxi duties). This is why I'm not too excited to start another marathon training plan anytime soon (ran one in March).
I would say that unless you're riding major hills, you'll get used to the bike commute and be fine. The e-bike should help to keep the effort down. I mostly keep it easy on the bike ride, averaging about 15-16mph (regular, manual bike).
No new posts in >24 hrs?
Should I have added, "Mic drop" to the end of my last post?
Just pinged DLS on FB - he and his are OK.
Knock on wood, calf is solid. Felt good this morning; a bit stiff post-workout, but good again by tonight.
12 miles, including 2x3200 in 12:51 (6:29/6:22) and 12:42 (6:24/6:18). Also injury prevention work and recovery swimming. Yet another workout done in hurricane remnants - the temperatures were fine but I could have done without the wind.
No new posts in >24 hrs? Should I have added, "Mic drop" to the end of my last post?
I think you and I posted simultaneously
Good. Thanks for the info.
(I'm guessing his knee got too bad to run much lately...)
pie man
I did a 10k. Gps seems to have eaten it. Rolling course along the river in Gualala. Lined with redwoods. Pretty small field (they also had a 5k). Was shadowing the leader the whole time but didn't pass (would have felt bad if he faded on the last hill). First AG, just under 42 minutes official. Course seemed fair so cool?
probably a while before I can swing another one.
11:11 3,000 (recent)
Rick
65 miles for the week with some good vertical gain/loss. Had some longer outings with a midweek long run of 16 that went very well. Was very difficult not to binge eat after the 16 miler, I did not take any fuel with me. One moderate effort session of hill repeats where I ran the hills this time.
Things I worked on - slowing my easy pace down, continuous running, and calisthenics. Maybe trying to do to much?
This week - keep going with the mileage. Front load first part of the week. Mini taper. 50k Saturday (easy, fun day on the trails).
12-22 Last One Standing - dnf 37 miles
1-23 Sun Marathon - 3:53
3-4-23 Red Mountain 55k - 7:02
4-15-23 Zion 100 - 27:59
PJ: Yep...cool.
Glad to hear dls is OK.
Hey to everyone. Embracing easy miles this week...
M: Rest
T: 9 @ 9:38
W: 4 @ 9:11
T: 5 @ 9:08
F: 5 @ 9:19
S: 7 @ 9:13
S: 10 @ 9:12
Total: 40.